we are back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, the 9th of may, 2012. yes it is a foggy morning here in the northeast. it's been raining on and off for the last several hours and should for the next several hours, as well. thanks to these people for stopping by to our little corner of the world. >> one of the great things about being here on a rainy day we make sure that camera gets to every single person. it's the only guarantee you're going to be on television. >> another great thing about being here, i've just polished off three scoops of strawberry ice cream, chocolate sauce and 11 ginger snaps. >> well done. >> and the morning is just beginning. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and savannah guthrie. you did pretty well over there, too, by the way.

al is on the road today. we're going to check with him in just a couple of minutes. coming up in "today's money 911" our experts are armed with advice for your money emergencies, including if you're around retirement age and you've lost your job, should you consider taking your social security early? also, what are reasonable fees when it comes to investment accounts? we'll have those questions, and answers coming up ahead. >> also we're going to be talking about tummy troubles this morning. from 70 million americans suffer from digestive problems so we're going to go through five of the most common disorders, such as acid reflux, and also lactose intolerance which i actually have a little bit of and we're going to tell you what symptoms you should pay attention to. >> you're giving us this after we had block lynn becker talk to us about snot bubbles. >> i didn't go into detail like this. >> won't go into detail coming up in just a few minutes on that. and then in "today's style," of course all about color and bold, fresh looks. we're going to show you how to

kick up your look for the season with the right outfit for every occasion from the office politics to the sexy suit. >> first let's head over to the news desk. natalie is standing by. >> good morning once again. good morning, everyone. new details this morning about that thwarted plot to bomb a passenger jet bound for the u.s. officials say the man al qaeda members thought was one of them was actually a double agent, an informant who was working with the cia and saudi intelligence. he infiltrated the al qaeda affiliate in yemen, instead of sneaking an underwear bomb onto a plane the informant instead delivered the device to the u.s. government. the fbi is now analyzing the bomb. the longest serving republican member of the senate lost his bid for another term on tuesday. indiana's richard lugar lost in a republican primary to the tea party backed state treasurer. lugar has been in the senate for 36 years. meantime mitt romney won primaries in indiana, north carolina, and west virginia. he's about 280 delegates shy of

locking up the republican presidential nomination. voters in noort carolina have passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, becoming the 30th state to do so. the state already had a law banning gay marriage. at the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards, a former edwards' aide is back on the stand today. she claimed edwards knew a wealthy donor had provided money to hide his mistress and child while he was running for president. prosecutors say the money amounted to illegal campaign contributions. and maurice sendak is being remembered this morning as an author and illustrator who changed the face of children's books. his books, including "where the wild things are" sold millions. sendak died in connecticut at the age of 83 tuesday, four days after suffering a stroke. today, britain's queen elizabeth said restoring economic stability is united kingdom's priority over the next year. she also announced plans to overhaul the centuries old house of lords, and introduced direct

elections for its members. meantime, two other members of the royal family were getting lots of attention last night. the duke and duchess of cambridge attended an event at one of the most elite dining clubs in britain. and once again kate middleton wowed the crowd wearing a white gown with a thigh high slit. absolutely stunning. and a personal fight against cancer is inspiring an outpouring of lover on our web site today.com. the video has shot by lieu kwooem keep yeah patient chris who spent one day taping fellow cancer patients and nurses at seattle's children's hospital then set it to the tune of "stronger" by kelly clarkson. ♪ what doesn't kill you makes you stronger ♪ ♪ stay a little longer don't mean i'm lonely when i'm alone ♪ ♪ what doesn't kill you makes a fighter doesn't mean you're over ♪ >> and one nurse said making the video lifted spirits of the young children, also as you saw the nurses getting involved there themselves.

kelly clarkson herself called the video beautiful. absolutely is beautiful. i watched the whole thing on our website. it is now five minutes past the hour. let's go out to al again once with a check of your weather in kansas city. hey, al. >> hey that, that video is just so inspirational. thanks so much, natalie. going to say here in kansas city. not so much here in the northeast and the mid-atlantic states. got a lot of rain to talk about as we show you. we're looking at heavy rain from the gulf coast all the way up into the eastern seaboard, into new england, where we could have some really heave very rain. some areas picking up two to three inches before it's all over. and, in fact, that heavy rain stretches all the way down in to eastern georgia. rest of the country, we expect to see a few hit or miss showers in the pacific northwest. we're looking at sunshine into the upper mississippi river valley. into the central plains. and again that heavy rain, slight risk of strong storms alone the southeastern atlantic coast. >> good morning.

we will have some off and on rain today. this will not be a steady rain situation. a couple of dry hours. >> and that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you. time once again for "today's money 911," where we answer all of your financial questions, whether you're heading back to school or heading into retirement. our panel of experts is back here to help you. jean chatzky is "today's" financial editor and author of "money rules." david bach is the founder of finishrich.com and the author of "debt free for life" and sharon epperson is cnbc's personal finance correspondent. good morning to all you guys. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> got people lined up with lots

of questions for you. let's start off with constance on the phone with us right now from new hartford, connecticut. good morning and what's your question? >> good morning. thanks for taking my question. i'm 63 years old. i'm a widow. and i lost my job this past january. i have been looking for a job without a whole lot of success and it's been suggested to me by several people that i just file for early social security. i'm not eligible until full social security until 2015. people seem to think it's a good idea but i'm really not sure and i wonder what your advice is. >> sounds like you're going through a tough time right now. jean chatzky, you want to give constance some good advice. >> absolutely. if you watch this segment a lot you know that we tell people to delay. because every time you delay it for every year you get about an 8% bump in your monthly benefit. which is great. except when you are having trouble paying your bills. and at your age, if you're having trouble, take it. because this is what social security is for. if you have the choice between

taking your husband's, or yours, you know, take the smaller amount first, see if you can make ends meet and if you can't, just go ahead and take it and make a budget and know this is what you're going to have to live on for the rest of your life. >> constance, hoping things get better for you. thank you for your question. >> thanks very much. >> okay our next question, another phone call we have sherry on the line with us in oklahoma. good morning. >> good morning. yes, i have a question. i have a raymond james freedom funds account consisting of mutual funds, bonds, and income accounts. i'm paying a fee of 1.75% per year on approximately $130,000. this is costing me about $2100 per year. is this wise? or are they just depleting one of my nest eggs? >> oh, a really good question. and david, you want to tackle that? >> and do you feel free? >> yes. >> here's what i want you to find out. first question i have for you is that 1.75%, does it include the

mutual fund fees, or is it on top of the mutual fund fees? and the reason that's a really important question is, this 1.75%, and there's mutual fund fees on top of that, your real cost for that investment account is more like 2.5%. that's really high. so here's what i would tell you. you can go back to your add vieder and first of all, try and negotiate. the reality is 1.75%, that adviser has some flexibility. he's not going to want me telling you this but that can probably be brought town to about 1.25%. that saves about $500 a year. the other thing is that you're in an account that has active mutual funds. well that same firm also offers an account with exchange traded mutual funds. that will reduce the cost again about another $500 a year. really the important thing is know what you're paying, don't pay too much which i think you are paying a little bit too much, and then really critical, make sure you're being serviced for that. so it's not just about the investment account. you should be meeting with that adviser once a quarter and the adviser should actually explain to you what your asset

allocation is and be rebalancing that account on a quarterly basis for you. that's all part of the fees. make sure you're getting the service for the fees you're paying for. >> thank you, sherri. thanks so much. next on skype we have dina. she joins us live from jacksonville, north carolina. good morning. >> good morning. i'm an active duty military spouse currently a state at home mom but i want to go back into school to become an ultrasound technici technician. i know my full tuition for a degree in that field will cost about $10,000. i want to take advantage of any free money i can get towards tuition. what are some grants and scholarships i should apply for? >> good question. >> so adorable, watching your little girl. first of all, i think you need to really look at where you're going to attend to get this program for ultrasound technician. so it needs to be accredited. you want to make sure you choose a school that's not expensive. not necessarily apply to an institution, but a public college where you could qualify

for the in-state tuition or a local community college. from there, the free application for federal student aid. it's very important that you fill this out because you may qualify for a federal pell grant. that will be one step. and then the school may offer you some aid on top of that. also look at the post-9/11 g.i. bill education benefits. that may pay for tuition as well as books and supplies. there's a military spouse career advancement account. they call it my c.a.a. that's another account you may want to look at. look at some of the private scholarships or search engines that may help you find scholarships specifically for military spouses. military.com. i went on that site. a ton of res fors. fastweb.com, we talk about that a lot. scholarshipsamerica.org. another site. and look at some specific programs. thanks usa, thanking service people for all of their services. they offer scholarships to military spouses and the national military family association is a wonderful resource for this and for many other things since you have a young daughter there with you.

>> a lot of great scholarship opportunities. deena, good luck to you. once again on skype, we have carmen joining us from maine. good morning, carmen. how are you? >> good morning. i've lost audio. my husband and i are self-employed. we have delayed starting retirement plans because we're currently paying just over $14,000 a year for health insurance, plus an additional $2,000 to $3,000 a year in out-of-pocket expenses for things that aren't covered by the policy, which has a $5,000 deductible. we looked around for less expensive policies but haven't been able to find anything. we're wondering if we should consider going uninsured and put the roughly $17,000 that we're spending on health insurance into an hsa and retirement plan, and if so, what sort of retirement plan should we be considering, bearing in mind that we're both 40 and have three children? >> all right, jean, sounds somewhat risky to be giving up insurance. >> i think you're a little confused. an hsa doesn't mean you go uninsured. it means you buy a high

deductible health plan, which should be seriously cheaper than the amount of money that you're paying now. and the deductible should not be a lot higher than the deductible you have now. i want you to go to e-health insurance and look for one of those. and also understand it's just two of you. in your state, two of you actually qualify to be a small business. and that comes with tax deductions. so, you can also look not just at individual and family policies, but at small business policies, that may bring the cost down, as well. i think you can find something to save you a lot of money. >> thank you. >> great advice to all of you guys. thank you, thanks to all who wrote in or e-mailed us or on the phone with us. thanks. coming up next, what your stomach is trying to tell you. five common ailments you should know more about. and then later, simplifying your style from day to night. effortless looks after these messages. ( telephone rings )

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[ female announcer ] from special occasions to unplanned thursdays, it's one good time after another. town house®. where good times reside™. this morning on "today's health," five common stomach ailments. while we all may experience a little bit of discomfort once in awhile, up to 70 million americans are affected by digestive diseases which can sometimes be serious if left untreated. dr. carrie peterson is an internist and contributor to "women's health" magazine. >> good morning, savannah. >> we have a lot to get here. tummyaches are kind of a general estimate up but they can signify something more serious. >> they definitely can. >> okay so as sid reflux is a

very common cause of stomach ailments. what is it exactly. >> also known as heartburn. this is when the acid in the stomach goes -- leaks backward into the esophagus and causes a burning in the chest that you can feel, particularly when you lie down, right after a meal, or if you bend over. and it can be triggered by some of our favorite foods like -- >> so tell us. >> chocolate, caffeine. alcohol. spicy foods. even peppermints. so obviously diet changes may be one way to address it. how else do you treat it? >> initially if it's mild you can do over-the-counter antacids like tums or pepcid. but if you're noticing it's happening more frequently, this may be a sign that you have gerd or gastroesophageal reflux disease. your doctor can give you a prescription antacid that blocks acid production altogether. >> our next culprit sounds bad. irritable bowel syndrome. >> so common in women. it's a malfunction of the nerves that control the contractions of the intestines. and it can cause so many

symptoms. nausea, bloating, cramping, gas, diarrhea, constipation. >> no wonder your bowel is irritable. >> a lot of these symptoms can mimic a lot of conditions we're talking about a little later in the segment. but one unique thing about ibs is that once you have a bowel movement these symptoms can get a little better. >> so that's a telltale sign. how do you treat it? >> initially what's recommended is to use fiber in your diet. because the fiber helps regulate the contractions of the intestines. but in some people that may not be sufficient. and your physician can prescribe medication that targets your symptoms, so if you have gas cramps. >> we hear a lot about celiac disease. >> that's a new hot disease these days. >> a trendy disease. >> it's an intolerance to gluten which is a protein that's found in wheat and barley and rye. when you have celiacs, the gluten causes damage to the small intestine lining. so that the finger-like

projections of the villae of the small intestine atrophy. these are responsible for absorbing nutrients and fluids. and when they atrophy you can get bloating, cramping, and diarrhea, in particular. >> i feel like i'm in science class. i hope there's not going to be a test. how do you address this? >> very easy you just cut out the gluten and the villi grow back and your symptoms resolve al together. nowadays there are so many products that are gluten free. >> lactose intolerance. another thing that a lot of people complain about. they drink dairy products and they start feeling bad. >> exactly. about 30 minutes to two hours after consuming dairy products you can get bloating, cramping and diarrhea. and this is caused by a lack of an enzyme called lactaid. it's responsible for breaking down the sugar that's found in these milk products. >> so avoid milk products. >> avoid them. you don't have to avoid them altogether. there are certain cheeses, if you really love your dairy, there are certain cheeses that

are lower in loactose like swis and cheddar. and if you dairy with other foods it can help slow down the digestion. there are even lactose free dairy products like milk available. if you really need your fix, you can take it with a lactaid containing supplement. >> gallstones. >> little nuggets in the gallbladder made up of cholesterol in bile. more common in women, overweight people, diabetics and women, they cause pain in the right upper quadrant under the rib cage. >> see your doctor if you have those. >> yes. >> and we hope you don't. dr. carrie peterson, thanks so much. appreciate it. coming up it's all in the details. we're going to show you how to kick up your look no matter where you're headed with outfits for every occasion. [ woman ] my washer had a foul odor that made the whole room stink. [ woman #2 ] even my laundry started to get a funny smell. [ female announcer ] got a bad odor in your high-efficiency washer? clean it with tide washing machine cleaner. [ female announcer ] three uses will help remove odor-causing residues

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the abrasives in the toothpaste actually create those micro fine scratches in the denture, and that's where bacteria can grow and thrive. these are the very bacteria that can cause bad breath. dentists do recommend that you soak your denture in polident. polident doesn't scratch the denture surface, and it kills 99.9% of bacteria that are responsible for causing bad breath. by using polident and soaking your denture every day you can feel confident your dentures fresh and clean. coming up from daytime chic to weekend wear, the perfect style for every occasion. >> and the perfect meal for any occasion, as well.

with jimmy and impossible to resist potatoes. i'm here with carol, flo, and karen for a girls night out talking about activia. i tried it and my body felt so right, for a change. and then there's you... why should i try it? my system gets out of sorts but that comes with age, right? wouldn't you like to feel great? just because we're in that over 50... what does that mean? are we done? activia helps regulate your digestive system when eaten daily. these could be our best years yet. activia [ female announcer ] when you give your kids frosted strawberry pop-tarts

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> watching a cold front from the west. i will not be a steady rain situation. high temperature of 76 this afternoon. as we head throughout the rest of the week, it cools off. 60's on thursday and friday

♪ we could have had it all >> that is british song stress adele. she's hat kwied a year your honoring six grammy awards and having an album that pretty much parked itself on the top of the charts. matt sits down for an exclusive interview for the woman behind these instant classics tomorrow on "today." the greatest breakup album of all time. >> i could hear that album over and over and over again. >> actually i think i hear it coming from your office. >> meantime coming up, millions of americans are in the battle with the bulge. and that rings true even for the head of weight watchers. now he's proud to say he's finally made his goal weight. and he's here to talk about his

own struggle to lose weight and how he's used that to help others. then in "today's style," if you look in your closet every morning with that same drab, you've got nothing to wear, we've got ideas to brighten up your spring style or work or for play. >> and we're bringing the fashion theme to our cooking segment, cooking skirt take. we've got ted allen in the house. oh, you really liked napt >> yeah. >> that's a courtesy laugh. >> absolutely. >> all right. that's fine i'll take it. but you know what? let's head back out to kansas city and get a check of the weather from al. we miss you. >> oh, miss you guys back in new york. although we're here for a good cause. helping raise some money for the salvation army disaster relief fund, so we're going to be doing that a little later. got some nice friends who came down to help us and cheer us on. let's show you what we got as far as your weather is concerned. for today, we expect to see some more storms in the northeast, going to be wet, heavy rain

along the new england coast. slight risk of strong storms, mid-atlantic, down into the southeast. some clouds and showers in the pacific northwest. sunny and warm through the rockies. then for tomorrow, we've got more warm weather in the rockies. mild conditions in the gulf coast, all the way into the upper mississippi river valley. more rain interior new york, new england, and northeast. look for the hot weather to make its way from the southwest into central california. >> good morning. we will see some off and on showers today. there'll be a lot of dry hours. otherwise, mostly cloudy.

>> and that's your latest weather. savannah, natalie, back to both of you. >> all right, thanks al. coming up next we're going to pull you out of your fashion rut with some simple styles for any occasion. coming up right after this.

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this morning on "today's style," fashions for every occasion, whether you want a bit more pop during the day or you want to look slim and sexy on the beach. creator director of "o" magazine adam glassman has great looks for day or night. >> good morning. >> we're seeing a lot of great trends that you're applying to all of these looks, as well. >> we are, absolutely. spring is here, we're ready 20 get dressed. >> lots of color. our first model is ekaterina

sporting a great look for the office. >> this is for the office. >> you can be a little chic at the office. >> it's a creative office. because this is a power suit. but the power suit doesn't have to be matchy-matchy anymore. color blocking right now is super hot. so we have these bright orange pants from i say, paired with this sleek black blazer and a knit top. and it's a great look. she looks sophisticated and she's ready to run a meeting. >> the goldish, glimmery top is like an accent accessory. i imagine if she takes the blazer off she can go out right after work. >> looking great. thank you so much. next an evening look and modeling this one for us is holly. >> holly is sequinned. >> this is all about glitter and glam. >> and it's always about sequins. what i love about this dress is this beautiful blush color. it looks great on all skin tones. and also notice the sleeve, designers are finally listening to women's needs about not wanting to show so much skin. >> we like that. >> but if you want to show some

skin, shoes, one area and just run with it. we're here highlighting holly's legs. >> can everybody get away with this look? she obviously has an incredible figure. >> i think if you're a petite woman you can get away with this. if you have great legs. you just have to work with your body and own your body. >> there you go. you look great, holly. thanks. next the polished and ready for the weekend look. this is sort of dressing up your weekend. >> dressing up your weekend. you don't want to look sh lumpy on the weekend. you want a great blazer. this is in this watercolor print. we paired it with a t-shirt and white pants and cute ballet slippers. it's all about looking stylish. >> right. >> and comfortable at the same time. >> and i like how you can do the stripe but with the pattern, as well. is the idea really to stick with a color palette? >> you want to stick within a color field. this is all the mediterranean blues together. >> that's really trendy right now. sort of a mix and match stripe. >> absolutely. >> with flowers, even. you have floral prints.

>> yep, yep, in the office all the time. >> looking great. thank you. and then the great beach look, and probably i think what a lot of women are really going to love is this bathing suit. >> oh, i'm crazy about this bathing suit. a one-piece suit is a lot sexier and more sophisticated than two-piece suit. and this one from miracle suit i'm totally crazy for because it will take ten pounds off your body instantly. >> wow. >> the moment you put it on. >> it has that sort of -- sucks it all in, right? >> it sucks it all in. it's a great strapless suit. it never falls down. and we did a long sarong. made it into a skirt and she's ready to go from poolside off to drinks. >> looks gorgeous. jewelry and everything. bring all the ladies out for one last look here. adam glassman, as always. great job. they look stylish and magnificent. >> thank you. >> and we should mention by the way that adam is going to be a guest judge in the upcoming will minna over30 search.

sounds like a lot of fun. >> it's going to be so much fun. go online, everyone and you can sign up for it. >> great. coming up next, the weight loss boss shares his own struggle withs battle of the bulge. that's coming up right after this. [ man on radio ] it's a scorcher out there folks... stay refreshed. hey boys, i have an idea. [ female announcer ] new lipton tea & honey. sweetened with honey, made from real tea leaves and real fruit flavors! mmm...that is so good. ♪ [ female announcer ] lipton tea & honey. real is refreshing. ♪ it's never felt so real ♪ no, it's never felt [ all ] ♪ so right [ female announcer ] new lipton tea & honey. lipton: drink positive!

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well, david's story is like millions of others. he waged a 25-year up and down battle with his weight. finally a doctor's appointment triggered a life change. but unlike most, david is in the business of weight loss. he's the ceo of weight watchers. and he shares his personal journey in a new book called "weight loss boss." david, good morning. it's good to see you. >> good to see you, too. >> you're looking fabulous. so we know it worked for you. >> thank you for showing all the before pictures. that was great. >> we'll keep on showing them. we do want to talk about your personal story. i bet a lot of people are surprised when they hear that the ceo of weight watchers is a man. >> it's a guy. >> yeah. >> i know. but you know what? obesity is no longer -- it's not a woman's issue. and i think that's an important point. i mean men suffer the same ill health effects of obesity that women do, yet they're half as likely to do anything about it. so a big thrust for us now is getting more guys to take control of their health and addressing obesity through that

very difficult population of people. >> and this is a journey you know well yourself. having gone through it over a course of nine years. i know in 1999 you kind of had that moment. >> right. >> where it clicked for you. what happened? >> yet it took me nine years to actually get it. i'm a slow learner. >> i think a lot of people can relate. it's a difficult thing to do. >> but more important for me is it was keeping it off for the last three years. i've probably learned a lot more during that time than i did in my kind of ups and downs and twists and turns and actually losing the weight. >> you mention ups and downs. why did it take so long? what were the struggles you encountered? >> honestly i think i was because of the dieting mentality. which is be hard core for two or three months and then say, as soon as i get to "x" goal then i can kind of relax and go back to my old life. as opposed to the better way to think about it is to address the underlying behaviors, establish routines and habits, you know, try to avoid temptation, try to rely less on will power. these are the things that i've

learned keeping it off, which was effectively what i wanted to share back in the book which is kind of all my hard-fought lessons that i wasn't following for the first nine years that have been kind of saving my skin for the last three. >> do you think a lot of men are to some degree in denial, maybe, about their weight gain? as women we're obsessed on this issue. >> right. >> but something you wrote about is you were tall. you kind of thought, oh, well of course i carry a little extra weight, i'm a big guy. >> so you suck in your gut. >> yeah. >> and you convince yourself you're not tall. but i look at those before pictures and in retrospect i think it's less so, i think men are starting to take this issue more seriously. because you can't avoid the health impact of it. i mean, it's been impacting women for the wrong reasons for too many years which is body image and everything else, as opposed to once and for all, we need to start treating obesity as a health issue not as a vanity issue. >> weight watchers has had a lot

of success with celebritieceleb jennifer 4udson being one of them. other than the fact she's beautiful and had great success, why does this work? >> well, you know, one of the things that we find over and over again is for people that have success in the behavior change process and stick with it, being inspired, and having a sense of belief was very important and with someone like jennifer, what you have is a great example of someone who had her own struggles with food, who has been able to overcome them herself. and she's kept her weight off now for a long time. and so i think people see that, they say, if she can do it, i can do it. >> another unworth dox choice, charles barkley who dressed up as a woman. tell me about that story. >> i thought about dressing up as a woman but i couldn't have rocked that look nearly as well. >> those pictures will be around forever. >> charles has been great in really giving guys air cover. you know what, it's okay to deal with this. it's not something you have to feel weird about and it's surprising how many men have come up to me and thanked me for actually making dealing with weight okay. >> yeah. well it really does make that plunging neckline look good.

the book is "weight loss boss." david, thanks, good to see you. thanks for sharing your story. >> thanks very much. >> coming up next, get those grills ready. ted allen is going to show you how to spice up your skirt steak.

this morning in "today's kitchen," what's on the menu? an easy skirt steak with a delicious chimichurri courtesy of the host of chopped ted allen. >> the recipe is straight out of his new cookbook called "in my kitchen." should we say congratulations are in order. >> thank you. >> you just one not one but two james beard awards. >> it's really exciting because when you have two of them they clink together in a really pleasant way. they're medals actually and i'm so excited. our judges also i think deserve much much the credit. the show is doing really well. >> well, good. >> best tv personality, that's

pretty -- >> it was clearly a mistake. >> oh, no, no. >> on the strength of your courtesy lap. >> my animal magnetism. >> you have a good courtesy laugh. let's get to our skirt steak first starting off with a great lean cut here. >> not too lean. there's a lot of flavor in skirt steak. what's great about skirt steak is that it's just packed with flavor and it's affordable. and it's really tender and juicy. so long as you cook it correctly. you've got to cook this medium rare. it's really good on the grill and grilling season for me is already here. >> you probably need to get on this side? >> okay. absolutely. the way you cook a skirt steak, medium rare, love to go on the grill, i'm serving it here today with a chimichurri sauce which is a sauce from argentina, so flavorful, so spacy. i'm kicking up the sauce a little bit with roasted jalapeno chilies. >> how do you roast them? >> it brings out a different kind of flavor. gives it a little bit of char. and you know if you're nervous about how much -- you're going to take these guys, cut them in

half and take out the seeds. a lot of the heat is in the seeds and you can scrape those right out. now we've already got some chilies in this blender. so to this the basis for the chimichurri sauce is tons and tons of parsley and cilantro. and it makes for a very vivid, green sauce. beautiful. for serving. and -- >> what's that? >> this is garlic. we're kicking it up a notch with garlic. a little bit of red wine. and what i think really makes the chimichurri great is the tangy, acidity that you get from this red wine vinegar and from some lemon juice. you throw that in there. fire this guy up, you just took an involuntary step back. >> i don't know. spills happen around me. >> does this have olive oil in it, too? >> that's coming up. so you just -- probably about half a cup of collive oil. and that's all you got to do. it's super easy. >> that's it. easy. >> and you can keep this in the refrigerator for quite awhile,

right? >> there we go. i think it would be good in the fridge for a couple of days. >> yeah. >> we have some that's made already. so you take your skirt steak, give it a nice little coat of olive oil. generously salt and pepper it, you've got to season steak really nicely before you serve it. and then when it's finished, the other really critical thing about skirt steak is if you look at -- >> hmm. >> you have to cut it across the grain, it makes it more tender when you're eating it. you notice the grain goes this way so you get in here with your knife on kind of a diagonal, cut against the muscle fibers. >> oh, interesting. >> and it's a lot easier to chew. >> you just said put the chimichurri right on top of it? >> yeah, exactly. i think it presents really nicely sort of drizzled across the top. >> now duck fat fingerling potatoes. where do you get the duck fat? i mean obviously from the duck, but -- >> yes. >> you're welcome people at home. >> i'll give you another courtesy laugh. it's from the duck. >> go on.

>> where do you buy it? >> you can buy it at places like -- >> the duck fat store? >> they sell it at places like whole foods market or if you ever cook duck. ducks live outside where it's cold, they have a thick layer of flat and when you cook a duck breast you really need to render that fat out. score the duck breast, cook it slowly. >> the amazing taste of that. >> this is what you get. i know it sounds a little decadent and it is a little decadent to cook with duck fat. my mother, i grew up with bacon grease in the refrigerator. >> and you turned out fine. >> i turned out all right. >> so this is one of -- it's an indulgence. if you don't want to use duck fat you could do the same recipe with olive oil or if you really want to be nuts, you can drizzle it with bacon. >> you just throw it right on and bake it in there? >> toss it with the duck fat. >> roast it in the oven? >> put your oven at 450, 25 minutes, good, hot oven. >> and top with parsley and lemon? >> lemon zest. >> ted allen, thank you. >> well, thank you. >> kathie lee and hoda coming

up.